The Cursed Prince
by CrystallineX
Summary: What if Kuon really was a fairy prince, exiled to the human world because a seer prophesied that he would wreak havoc on both the fairy world and himself unless he brought back a bride? Too bad fairy tales aren't as simple as children think they are.
1. The Seeress

Disclaimer: Sadly, Skip Beat! does not belong to me. If it did, I'd hire a whole slew of drawing assistants and slave-drive them into releasing Skip Beat! bi-weekly again.

…

**The Cursed Prince**

…

_Chapter 1_

_The Seeress_

_…_

It was a glorious day in the magical world. The heir of the kingdom had just been born, and everybody was celebrating the birth of the fairy prince. Mermaids sang of the golden locks and blue eyes that he'd inherited from his mother the fairy queen, while the elves whispered that he possessed the handsome features of his father the fairy king.

When a grumpy seeress, (who'd just broken up with her boyfriend) heard the latter at a leprechaun bar, she snorted. "For the love of… he's a _newborn baby._ How can he 'possess handsome features'? _Cute,_ maybe, but I've seen my fair share of newborns and they were all as wrinkly as dragon skin for the first few weeks."

The seeress realized she had spoken a tad bit loudly when everyone in the pub simultaneously turned to glare at her. She shrank behind her tankard. "Okay, okay!" She waved aside an indignant puff of smoke blown her way by the salamander sitting next to her. "I'm sorry, no offense meant to your cousins."

The scruffy leprechaun behind the bar yanked the tankard out from her hands.

"'Less yeh've nethin' good teh say on a day yeh should be celebratin', ye'd better scram from this joint, _Madam Seeress_. Yeh'll not be wehlcome here no more."

Kicked out of what used to be her favorite bar, the seeress scowled up at the sun, which had decided to celebrate along with the rest of the kingdom.

Crossing her arms, she muttered, "If I knew weather sorcery I'd make the weather as stormy as I feel right now." Then again, the royal weather sorcerers probably spelled the weather to be as good as it currently was.

"An ominous prophecy would be the topper to a bad day like this." She muttered.

The seeress began to shuffle down back to her house, which she knew would be dark and depressing to match how she felt right then.

"Seeress!"

The seeress twitched. _Maybe I heard wrong…_

"Seeress!"

So she hadn't heard wrong. _I don't recognize the voice… maybe I can just ignore it._

"Seeress Saena!"

Slowly, Saena rounded upon whatever unfortunate creature had dared call her title _three _times when she was in a particularly bad mood. _May there be a really nasty future in store for whoever demands my service right now…_

A male pixie saluted her. "Seeress Saena, you have a royal summons!"

It _really_ was not her day.

…

After being handed off from pixie to fairy to elf to fairy again, Saena finally found herself at the edge of a long and grand hall. "Announcing Seeress Saena to their majesties Kuu and Juliella Hizuri!"

Saena forced herself to glide forward towards the two thrones. Once she had moved close enough, she saw that between the two thrones, there was a crib.

Stopping at a suitable distance, she went down on one knee.

"This humble seeress gives her greetings to your majesties."

Slowly, a grin spread across the fairy king's face.

"C'mon Saena, can't you give a more enthused greeting to an old friend?"

Likewise, a sly smile was on the queen's face. "Especially on an auspicious day like this."

Saena looked up with a fixed smile on her face. "Your majesties, this lowly seeress has no idea what your honors are speaking of."

But she actually did. Discovered to possess powerful Foresight at the age of 3, Saena had been sent to Court to hone her powers there. The prince, Kuu, had been a year older, so they'd become fast friends. At the age of 7, she'd met Juliella, a noble fairy two years younger than she, and they'd also become friends. The three of them had gotten in and out of trouble in their younger years, so they'd been close for over a decade. Then Saena had chosen to leave court at the age of 16 to pursue the further control of her powers of Foresight at the University. Now at the age of 25, though they'd barely seen each other for the better part of a decade, she and the current regents had once been almost inseparable while they'd grown up… and so like it or not, they _knew_ her…

Kuu raised his eyebrows. "Ah. Must have broken up with a boyfriend again." Saena's eye twitched. "I guess Seers don't like to foresee their own futures? Or is it that they can't? I can't remember right now…" He pretended to think.

Choosing to ignore the King, Saena turned her too-wide-to-be-real smile upon the queen. "If I'm not overstepping my bounds to ask, shouldn't your majesty still be _resting in bed_?"

At this, Juliella gave a snort that still managed to sound delicate. "Pah. Hardly. Now that the rascal is out of my body, I'm finally fit to fly again." Despite her words, she looked fondly at the crib.

Emitting a rather fearsome aura, Saena turned her faux smiling face towards Kuu. "Did his majesty _forcibly _bring her majesty out despite her post-labor condition?"

Kuu raised his hands in protest. "Saena, you know I wouldn't do that… You know how much I treasure Julie – "

Julie crossly interrupted, "I came out of my own will, Sae. Now drop the formalities already. It's getting old."

Saena's cheeks were starting to quiver from the effort of smiling. "This lowly seeress can only follow that command if she is given the _privilege_ of being in the private presence of your majesties." _Hurry and send the servants out of the hall, you royal fools! You know what a disaster it would be if I try to See with all these people to overhear… _

Catching Saena's drift, Kuu dismissed the servants.

As soon as the last servant had filed out, Saena dropped the smile and the polite façade. Massaging her cheeks, she groused, "Took your sweet time, didn't you. Imagine the horror if my face froze that way."

Julie giggled. "Better than freezing in a frown."

At the mention of that, Saena really did frown. "You should really be resting, Julie."

Julie slipped off from her throne and reached into the crib. Softly, she murmured, "Well, I don't think I'll die for another few years, not when my son was just born. I can't leave him yet."

The seeress rolled her eyes at her friend. "How many times do I have to tell you it's a bad habit to verbalize negative things that you don't know? Especially time of death. Haven't you heard of the phrase, 'self-fulfilling prophecy'?"

Julie pouted. "Then why don't you just Look into my future and find out how long I'll live?"

Saena pursed her lips and said sternly, "I've already told you that I won't Look into my friends' lifelines. That's just_ asking _for a bad omen." She shot a superior look towards Kuu. "And that goes for my romantic life as well." Looking back at Julie and seeing her downcast face, Saena's face softened. "So _please,_ watch what you say."

Julie reluctantly answered, "Alright Sae, I'll try."

Though unconvinced (Julie had been saying that she'd try since she'd first met and been scolded by Saena), Saena stepped closer to the crib. "So you want me to See the future for the new prince, right? Just in general?"

Peering into the crib, Saena was surprised to see that the elves' whispers _had_ been true. The prince was the most handsome newborn she had ever seen. But there was an odd dark aura shrouding him. This worried her. Ever since she was young, Saena had been able to sense strong auras from certain people; later, with experience, she'd realized that the strong auras belonged to people who had a particularly dark fate awaiting them.

Not wanting to preemptively worry the parents, Saena instead commented on what she thought was a safer topic; the newborn's lack of wrinkles. "No wrinkles, eh? Weird." The kid was beautiful too. Too beautiful. Suddenly, a dreadful thought occurred to Saena. "…Did you by any chance have anybody bless this kid?"

Kuu cleared his throat. "With Julie's and my blood running through his veins, do you _think_ he needs any blessings?"

That was Kuu at his most stubborn. Saena crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? So you _didn't_ call any sorcerers or sorceresses to his birthing?"

Kuu reddened. Juliella finally laughed and said, "Only seven sorcerers, dear."

Saena clenched her teeth, to keep her jaw from falling open. _Only seven?_ _**Only **seven? Only **seven? **How is that** ONLY?**__ Three is considered the maximum, but **seven?****  
**_

Unaware of Saena's thoughts, Julie went on, "They blessed him with kind nature, charisma, health, physical talent, integrity, intellect, and wisdom, right out of the womb." She smiled mischievously. "They're also the reason why I'm relatively energetic right now."

With each gift Julie listed, Saena's heart sank lower and lower. Filled with dread, she asked, "Have you named him yet?"

Eagerly bounding from his throne with the most childish expression on his face, Kuu answered, "We wanted to wait for the naming until you came! You're the most powerful Seer, Saena!"

Saena thoughts were running a mile a minute. _If he hasn't been named yet, there's still hope._ "Well, names can make all the difference to the future, so let's take a look at his current future, shall we?"

She placed a hand on the crown of the newborn prince's head.

And what she Saw was not pretty.

_Oh, all-powerful-immortal-fairy-angels protect me. _Saena looked down at the prince and amended to herself, _And him. _

The prince's blue eyes popped open and he stared at Saena's golden eyes in wonder. If she hadn't seen the horrifying future she just had, Saena would have felt her heart melt a little; his eyes were so charming. But this prince was effectively blessed to a curse. Exhaling, Saena slowly took her hand off the prince's head. Her mouth pressed into a grim line.

"You're going to have to think of a really good name for this little guy, because by the time he's 15, he's going to be a very unstable individual. He won't even grow proper wings."

Julie gasped and Kuu protested, "Why?"

Saena retorted, "That's what I should be asking _you_, Kuu." For Saena, having Seen a bad omen was the most fantastically horrific end to a spectacularly flaming-dragon-dung-y day. Especially since that future belonged to the child of her only friends. "_Why_ in the seven stages of Heaven and Hell did you invite so many sorcerers to the birthing?" Before Kuu could defend his decision, she plowed on, "Don't you know that all the good qualities that your son is now guaranteed to grow up with, have to come from _some other qualities _that he was meant to have? And of all the qualities the numbskull sorcerers choose, why the _most draining ones?_"

Julie stated numbly, "I don't understand."

Saena fought the urge to tear her raven locks from their roots. "Look, everybody is born with… they call it something like Karma in the human world… and this karma is divided into certain capacities, like…" She searched for a suitable comparison. It was a long shot, but… "Do you know role playing games in the human world? Like character stats."

Kuu and Julie were staring at her, lost. Of course they didn't know…! Biting back a groan of frustration, Saena groped for an example. "For example, a baby is born and he has a full… 10 out of 10 for natural kindness, but his physical attributes are a 4 out of 10. A 'blessing' of good physical attributes does not unconditionally raise the stat of 4 to a 10 while still maintaining the full stats of his natural kindness. There is a _cost_ that will lower his natural kindness not just to an equal trade of 4, but even lower to a 2, or a 1, even. The harder the exchange, the larger the cost of performing it."

Both Julie's and Kuu seemed to have gotten the gist of what Saena was attempting to explain, as their eyes were wide with terror. Julie scooped her baby out of the crib, clutching him protectively.

Seeing the looks on her friends' faces, Saena decided for the umpteenth time that she really hated her gift. Why did she always have to be the harbinger of doom? _Well, might as well play the bad guy to the end. _"In your son's case, the 'gifts' have probably drained his capacity to deal with the stress of growing up as a prince."

"…So all his blessings added up to be a curse." Kuu's voice broke.

"Which is why he may very well end up as…" Saena swallowed the painful lump that came up that came up her throat at her friends' heartbroken expressions, "…a nervous wreck and wreak havoc to all those around him."

Kuu whispered, "To _all_ those around him? As in, the kingdom?"

Saena nodded mechanically. She hesitated, before added quietly, "And I didn't see a future past his mid-teens."

Even Kuu and Julie, unversed in Seer-lore as they were, knew what that meant; the prince would die in his mid teens.

Julie wailed, "But he was blessed with health!" Holding the prince to her chest, she pleaded with Saena as if she was the one controlling the prince's fate, "He can't die! Not before - "

Heart squeezing, Saena reminded Julie, "Being healthy doesn't necessarily mean you live long."

The silence in the throne room was deafening.

"Is there anything we can do? To prevent his…death?" Kuu looked into the eyes of his childhood friend, desperate.

Saena schooled her expression. She had been in the business of foresight for almost a decade; she knew better than to feed them white lies for their peace of mind, but she knew even better than to tell them the unadulterated truth. _Heaven forgive me for what I am about to do, but I treasure my friends more than I do their day-old child._

"You have to send him to the human world."

…

…

**AN:** Though I have fallen into a different fandom, this does not mean that I will abandon The Bodyguard. (my Bleach fanfic)

This story idea was just tickling my brain for so many months…!

And forgive my taking extreme liberty with Saena's personality. It shall be explained in later chapters. I just wanted Saena to be a 3-dimensional character, though I'll be the first to admit that I love to hate Sho and Saena. :P


	2. The Fairy Ring

Disclaimer: Not mine.

…

**The Cursed Prince**

…

_Chapter 2_

_The Fairy Ring_

…

Saena took a deep breath.

"You have to send him to the human world."

Shocked silence followed Saena's statement. Then both parents gained their footing in hysteria.

"Sae! You can't be – "

"Human world… how will he fend for himself?"

"No! I'll die if I'm separated from my baby for even a second!"

"You know how decrepit the human world is! How could you – "

Saena closed her eyes. _It's not like I was expecting them to welcome the suggestion with open arms anyway. _She thought with grim humor before sighing and clarifying, "I didn't mean _immediately_. He's not going to feel stressed for a while yet. He doesn't even know what a prince is."

The King and Queen calmed down a bit at that, but still looked upset.

_Very few parents would not be upset at the news that their child would die from unnatural causes. _Saena thought bitterly. She turned to Kuu. "Have you thought of a name?"

Kuu slumped back onto his throne, head in hands. "How could I have? You've just told us that our child will die young. All because we called those damned sorcerers to bless him. Some blessing… If only we hadn't… If we'd known…"

Comforting people was not Saena's forte, but she couldn't let the regents blame themselves for something that may have been inevitable. She put a hand on Kuu's shoulder. "You can 'if' yourself to death, Kuu, but you don't know what would have happened for sure. Besides, the sorcerers' presence was fate." A few meters away, she heard soft sobs from Julie.

"My child… my baby… How will I…"

The baby, seeing his mother cry, whimpered and started to squall.

_Okay, that's it. I can't stand this anymore._

Putting her hands on her hips, Saena all but yelled at the regents, "We still have to name him. Naming is a crucial part of deciding someone's future. So are you two going to start thinking of a good name to counteract his current future, or are you going to leave him nameless and defenseless against fate?"

Saena's sharp tone snapped the royal couple out of their despair. She crossed her arms. "Any suggestions? He's fated to die at a young age, so preferably something to counteract that."

"Eien*?"

[Eien* = eternity in Japanese]

Julie hesitated. "Isn't that a bit difficult to pronounce? We want all creatures of this kingdom to feel included."

"Then what about Vivacitas*?"

[Vivacitas* = longevity in latin]

"Too many syllables." Saena dismissed.

"Aió̱nios?"

"How do you even pronounce that? Why are your suggestions getting more and more off-kilter?"

Suggestion after suggestion was shot down before Saena put her foot down. With an air of finality, she said, "Kuon. What about Kuon. It means eternal. And it won't be suspicious, because his father is named Kuu."

Kuu vocally expressed his adoration of the idea. Julie looked thoughtful. "Kuon. Kuu. Kuon. Prince Kuon." Smiling softly, she cooed down to the prince, "Did you hear your aunt? Your name will be Kuon. My 'eternal' child. Kuon."

Seeing her friend fight tears once more, Saena hastily said to distract Julie, "I have confirmation magic. The earlier you cast the naming spell, the more effective the name will be to counteract… well…" Saena shrugged uncomfortably, "…his fate." As a seer, to go against fate was unspoken of, but she would go against Seer-lore for her only friends.

So the servants were summoned again, and once the necessary ingredients like soil, water, and oil were gathered, they went through the naming ceremony.

Saena first called the naming spirits, the spirit of protection, luck, and longevity. She avoided directly calling the spirits of the qualities the prince had been blessed with; spirits did not like sorcerers giving out blessings of their powers without their express permission. But if they happened to turn up, they would turn up, nothing Saena could do but hope that they weren't aggravated by the forced gifting of their powers upon an innocent newborn.

Thankfully, of the 'blessings' granted to the prince, only the spirit of wisdom turned up, and Wisdom had as much mercy as wisdom. Though Protection and Luck also showed, to Saena's chagrine, Longevity was a no-show. She then used ingredients to summon elemental spirits. She sprinkled the soil into a pentacle, carefully poured water into its points and oil into the center. When she blew onto it, the oil and dirt burst into flame in the shape of a star. Protection, Luck, and Wisdom whirled around the pentacle before the spirits of fire, water, wind and earth were summoned.

For the final part of the ceremony, Saena held Kuon in her arms briefly before she lifted him up, chanting the incantation that would confirm his name. By the magic of the spirits Saena had summoned, Kuon was lifted from her arms and rotating above the pentacle, almost eerily.

"_Spirits of earth and air, fire and water, I testify to thine respective elements that this child's name is _Kuon_. Do I testify to you, and do thou in turn testify to all other beings that _Kuon_ is his name."_

The prince, now officially named Kuon, floated gently back down into Saena's arms and the flames shuddered out, marking the end of the ceremony. He blinked innocently up at her.

Now that his name was confirmed, the dark energy that surrounded him had receded a bit. But still not enough.

But Kuon gurgled happily and Saena smiled despite herself. Julie approached them. "I still can't believe that he won't – "

Saena hushed her with a stern look. "Even if you are aware of what will happen, if you say it, the likelier it will come true. Try to be more optimistic from now on, Julie, okay?"

For the first time after she'd heard what Kuon's future held, Julie laughed. "I can't believe I'm hearing advice to be optimistic from _you_, Sae."

Saena rolled her eyes. "Whatever, your majesty."

…

To commemorate the naming of their son and the first time they'd seen their friend in a few years, Kuu and Julie invited Saena to stay at the palace for dinner. After leaving the palace to attend university, Saena had become a bit of a miser, so she'd readily agreed. She also wanted to distract her friends from dark thoughts.

By the time the time came for Saena to leave, Julie was tearful again.

"Stay here!" Julie begged. "We need you. _I_ need you."

Saena was briefly tempted, but she remembered what happened with her (now ex) boyfriend. She couldn't. "I can't do that. But I'll come around every time you need me."

Needing comfort after a trying day, Saena automatically meandered to a familiar place. A forest, and at the foot of an oak, a fairy ring, one of the gateways to the human world.

She plopped down at the edge of the fairy ring. But the whole reason this place had become her place of comfort had been her ex-boyfriend.

_One last time. One last time, for closure._ Saena promised herself.

So she carefully stepped into the ring, which glowed and took her to the human world.

The glow faded away, and Saena found herself in a different forest, filled with maple and gingko trees. She glanced around. _So many memories –_

She froze when her eyes landed on a figure sitting at the foot of a nearby tree.

Finally, she found her words. "…I told you not to come here, Jun. I don't care about you anymore."

"Liar." Jun looked through black bangs up at Saena, his brown eyes meeting her golden eyes squarely. "You wouldn't be here right now if you didn't care." He stood up and approached her.

She looked away. "You're wrong. I'm here because for a commission."

Amusement leaked into Jun's voice. "At least look at me when you're lying." Saena felt gentle hands turn her head back to face him again, but she refused to look into his eyes. "How can your lying skills deteriorate so much when it hasn't even been a day? I was almost fooled this morning."

They stood there for a while, inside the fairy ring. Jun broke the silence by asking quietly, "Is it because of the dreams I'm getting?"

Saena snapped. "They're not dreams, they're _nightmares!_ If I'd known the effect that my powers have with – "

Her tirade was cut short when Jun abruptly hugged her. "I don't care about the premonitions. As long as I have you."

Wriggling in his hold in vain, Saena protested, "You don't know how painful it is to be the cause of pain and suffering to the people you – "

She caught herself just in time, before she said the word "love"; but Jun seemed to have realized what she had been about to say anyway. He held Saena back to look at her teasingly. "The people you…? People you what? 'Care about?' 'Cherish?' Or, dare I say, 'Love?'"

Saena's cheeks reddened, and a smile bloomed on Jun's face. He pulled Saena back into his arms twirled her around, shouting, "Ahhh! I'm so relieved! For a moment this morning, I really thought that you were telling the truth." He buried his head into her hair. "Forgive me, Saena." He murmured into her hair.

Saena felt the tears pooling in her eyes. Why? What did she do to deserve such a man? Why was he asking for her forgiveness? She had lied to him. She didn't deserve his love at all. "You fool. Why are you asking for my forgiveness?"

He held her tightly to his chest. "Because I doubted you. But you really had me fooled for a moment."

"…I should have acted better, to keep you fooled." Saena sniffled.

"Saena, you're getting my shirt wet."

"Then let go of me."

"No. Because then you're gonna go back to the fairy world, and I can't reach you there."

"What if I promise not to leave right now?"

"Then maybe." He released her, only to sweep her up in his arms again, laughing, carrying her bridal style. "Not! This is payback for trying to trick me this morning! You deserve a good scolding!"

"Mogami Jun! Put me down this instant!" But Saena wasn't fighting him in earnest. The day had been too exhausting, too heartbreaking for her to resist basking in the comfort of her love now.

"I refuse. I'm going to take this fairy home with me." Jun kissed Saena's nose, which immediately wrinkled.

"I'm a Seer, not a fairy!" Saena protested.

"You came through a fairy ring, so to me, you're a fairy. Besides, you've never Seen my future."

Saena finally settled in Jun's arms, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

_Can I indulge in this? The little happiness I have in my life? _

…

_3 years later_

…

If Saena could rid herself of her powers, she would have done it in a heartbeat. Every night that she had to wake Jun from his nightmares was testament to that. Except Kuu and Julie were counting on her to oversee Kuon's growth.

As of now, the little prince conducted himself best as (or even better than) any three-year-old possibly could. Even Saena had to admit that he was, for lack of a better term, adorable.

Presently, he had settled himself in his "Auntie Sae's" lap, as Julie was coaxing out the reason why Saena was refusing to live in the palace. "I've been asking for years now, Sae. Just come and live with us like we did back when we were children."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Saena face darkened, and she said shortly, "I don't want to talk about it."

Julie's eyes brimmed with what Saena knew were crocodile tears. Even though she knew they weren't real, she still couldn't resist their effect on her.

"All right, all right! People who spend a certain amount of time with me get nightmares of their past or futures, okay? I don't want you or Kuu to be like that."

This took Julie aback, and little Kuon, who had become curious now (even though he didn't understand some of the words) listened closely.

"But Sae, we _grew up_ together, and that didn't happen me _or_ Kuu."

Saena sighed, her breath tousling Kuon's golden locks, making him giggle and lose interest in the difficult adult talk.

"I don't know, it was the first time I'd seen or heard of it too, but as soon as the nightmare Jun mentioned came true – "

Julie held out a hand in the typical 'stop' sign.

"Wait. Jun?"

Saena silently cursed herself for her slip of tongue. A catty smile spread across Julie's face. "And who is this Jun, may I ask? A person in your life? A certain, _man_, I hazard?"

Saena automatically clammed up. Kuu and Julie were her friends, but she wanted to keep Jun to herself.

Besides, the people of the magical world who travelled to the human world were generally looked down upon. And if anybody found out that she'd fallen in love with someone from the human world, even Kuu and Julie couldn't protect her from the council. It wouldn't matter if anything happened to _her_, but they'd also punish _Jun_.

So much to Julie's obvious disappointment, she said no more, instead, choosing to bring Kuon himself into the conversation.

"And what did your highness Prince Kuon learn today?"

As Kuon listed different words and their meanings, Saena let herself smile.

Later that day, Saena sat at the royal table with food that she loved, food that the queen had specifically ordered the royal chef to make.

Except now she couldn't stand the smell.

Saena loved mackerel, but the fishy smell that hadn't bothered her before was now nauseating. Out of courtesy for the chef, she tried to eat it, but just couldn't. She felt like throwing up. Julie and Kuu were looking at her with worry, so she forced a smile, which was ruined by the gagging that immediately followed.

She barely had time to murmur her excuses before she could rush out of the hall and grab the nearest chamber pot.

She hadn't eaten anything, so nothing came out, but Saena couldn't help but feel suspicious. Had there been something in the mackerel to cause her to react this way? Or was she…

Saena tried to think back to when her last cycle had been.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're suffering from morning sickness."

Saena jumped a bit at Julie's voice. To hear her suspicions voiced from someone else made tears spring to Saena's eyes.

Julie sighed. "And then there's the mood swings… Are you really pregnant?"

Saena bit her lip. "I don't know. I don't want anyone to find out if I am…"

Leading Saena back to her own chambers, Julie reassured her, "Kuon's nurse can take a look at you."

…

"Jun…I'm pregnant."

At Saena's declaration, Jun sharply looked up from his calligraphy. His face first paled, then brightened. If Saena weren't so shell-shocked from the news of her own pregnancy, she would have been amused at the extent her lover's expression could change over the course of a few seconds.

She found herself lifted off of her feet and being swung around. "Wait, Jun – " She was silenced by a kiss.

Gently set down on a sofa, Saena found herself staring into the eyes of the man she loved.

"Then, Saena, will you marry me?"

Saena felt her heart both shatter into a million pieces and burst in joy. The first for her friends and the second for the one she loved. But she didn't give a damn about the fairy world or the consequences. She just threw her arms around Jun's neck in consent.

…

Julie and Kuu stared at Saena, aghast.

"You fell in love with…"

"So this Jun guy you were talking about is from the _human world?_"

Kuu massaged his temples. "And you _want _to be banished to the human world… Is this human really worth – "

Saena gave him a shriveling glare. Julie cut in before Saena could give the King a piece of her mind, "It can't be helped. Sae's pregnant with his child."

"_What?"_

Saena looked at Kuu defiantly. "Sorry, but I'm going to the human world with or without your permission."

Shooting his childhood friend a dark look, Kuu muttered, "Excuse my disbelief, for you neither _look _nor _sound_ sorry."

Saena gave no sign that she'd heard Kuu at all. "After this conversation, I'm going to be a fugitive. I won't tell you which fairy ring I'll be using for plausible deniability."

Irritably, Kuu yowled, "It's not like the council will question their own King and Queen, Saena. And you don't _have_ to take the wanted criminal route."

Saena arched a brow at him. "You have a better idea, then?"

Kuu ran his hands through his hair. "Tomorrow, I'll give you an official 'mission.' That'll give you leave to… go traveling." He gave Saena a pointed look. "But I am _not_ banishing you from the fairy realm, understand?"

Saena understood not only that, but how hard it was on both the king and the queen to let her go. Other than themselves, she was the only one aware of how fragile the mental state of their child would become over the next decade. And possibly their only chance of preventing his death.

"And _don't _you get caught entering a fairy ring." Kuu's voice had a hint of a threat in it.

But Saena was not one to be cowed by the mere threat of a mere fairy king. "They haven't caught me yet." She retorted.

"That's because you've always returned. But they'll get suspicious when they don't see you coming back this time."

…

The next day, Kuu gave the phony 'mission' to Saena and his blessing for her 'travels across the kingdom.' After suffering through kisses on each cheek from both regents, and a slobbery kiss from Kuon, Saena set out to go to the human world.

She had a future awaiting her in the human world.

…

…

A/N: I promise that Kyoko will come out in the next chapter… Maybe. I have no idea how long this backstory will take. It'll just take as long as… it takes.


	3. Today's Child

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

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**The Cursed Prince**

…

_Chapter 3_

_Today's Child_

…

Saena, glowing with all the happiness of a soon-to-be-mother, watched on as her husband taught his calligraphy class. _He'll be such a good father…_

She placed a hand on her now rounded stomach. Would she make a good mother? A wave of fear hit her. What if her child had powers?

For a moment, Saena was tempted to See the future of her and her child, before she banished such thoughts. She turned to look out the window, and saw that it was snowing. Somehow, watching nature do its work comforted her. _I can't become weak now. Just a few more days, a week at most._

But no such luck, as her water chose to break right then.

…

Jun wasn't sure whether he was more terrified or excited. For the past few days, he'd had nightmares about his wife dying in the process of labor, but he wasn't sure whether it was an actual premonition or just nerves. Saena had assured him that she wasn't a different species; she was a human as well (albeit one with special powers) and therefore had the same probability of giving birth safely as any other mother.

He also didn't know whether the snow was a good omen or bad one, but thus far he'd been inclined to think the latter, as he'd had avoid 2 traffic accidents and it had taken over 2 hours to get to a hospital that was normally only 20 minutes away. He paced back and forth, a pure bundle of nerves.

As soon as the nurse came out with a smile, he didn't even wait for a second. He rushed into the room, where his wife and child awaited.

"Congratulations on becoming a father, and on Christmas too." The nurse then left to give the couple some privacy.

Saena held a baby in her arms. Reality left her tired and sweaty after 7 hours of labor, but in Jun's eyes, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Saena gave Jun a tired smile.

"She's a girl."

Carefully, Jun took the baby from his wife's arms. His hold was a bit awkward but he was careful to support the baby's head. The baby was a bit wrinkly and smelt like blood, but she too, was perfect to Jun.

"She's so… tiny."

The child blearily opened her eyes, and Jun smiled. "She has your eyes, Saena."

Saena gave a small chuckle. "We need to per – " her mouth stretched into an enormous yawn, "perform the naming ceremony – "

Jun looked at Saena, surprised. "You have a name ready?"

He had tried to bring up baby names all throughout her pregnancy, but she'd refused to comply, saying she'd wait for the baby to be born first.

"No, I need to See at her future first…" She looked a bit apprehensive at the thought of using her powers on her own child.

Jun smiled at her. "You know, in the human world, people manage without having their futures predicted for them." He gently teased.

Saena hung her head. "I know." She held out her arms to take the child again. Cradling their daughter to her bosom, she whispered, "I just want the best for our child. Names are important to the future."

Deep in thought, Saena didn't even seen to notice she was worrying her chapped lip to tatters. "Alright. I won't look into her future. I hope I'm doing the right thing."

Jun kissed her forehead. "We normal humans are a far cry from perfect, but we still manage to hobble along."  
Saena examined her child's face closely, as if she could find the perfect name spelled out in her tiny features. She saw golden eyes, so much like her own, peering back at her, like a reflection.

"Maybe Kyoko."

"Which spelling*?"

**[*Kyoko can be spelled with different Kanji/Chinese characters, and turn out to mean different things.]**

"Mirror Child." Saena smoothed her daughter's hair. "To reflect." She would reflect people's true natures back to them.

"Kyoko it is, then." Tucking a stray lock of Saena's hair behind her ear, Jun proposed, "But I think we should write it differently."

Confused, Saena stared at Jun, who chided her, "Because the present is the most important. Kyoko. 今日子. Today's Child. You need to learn to treasure the present more, Madam Seeress."

Saena jutted out her lip, "I'll concede the spelling. But I'll have you know I treasure the present as much as the next person. And I'm still performing the naming ceremony."

Giving a good-natured sigh, Jun grinned. "Yes, ma'am. All in good time. First you need to rest."

…

Two days later found a recovered Saena squabbling with Jun over the quality of the ingredients during the preparation.

"What do you mean, all you have is vegetable oil? How would _you_ feel if you were a respectable fire spirit summoned with _cooking oil?"_

"Well, it could make our child a good cook or something…"

"And is this _gravel _and _sand _from your _zen garden_? We're summoning _spirits_, not trying to achieve enlightenment! And no, we're NOT using tap water!"

Half the day flew by and Saena now stood in the snowy backyard with the dubious-at-most ingredients for the naming confirmation ceremony.

Feeling the cold, Saena figured that it wouldn't be wise to stay out for long; she quickly called for the naming spirits. Unsure of how many of them existed in the human world, Saena didn't name any specific ones, only hoping that just the fact that the ceremony happening in this world at all would call spirits.

Saena's eyes widened when she saw the nature of the spirits that turned up. Sorrow, Pain, Rage, Abandonment, and Revenge had come.

Those five were the last spirits Saena wanted for her child. Saena berated herself; she knew she should have expected an excess of those dark spirits wandering around in the human realm, but she couldn't send them away once they'd shown up. They would curse her child if she offended them. Why hadn't she foreseen this? Why had she promised not to Look into her child's future? Why had she stubbornly insisted that she perform this confirmation ceremony?

Looking out of the corner of her eye and seeing her husband holding Kyoko, Saena heaved a sigh that frosted before her.

"What's wrong, Saena?"

Not wanting to burden her husband with things he couldn't see, Saena lied, "Nothing. Just nervous." She took sand in her right hand and a handful of pebbles in her left.

It was Jun's first time witnessing his wife perform magic, so he couldn't help but lean in, fascinated.

"You think there are spirits here too?"

"Yes. They're here right now." Saena answered shortly, as she sprinkled the sand into the shape of a star and dropped a pebble on every point and intersection. If the ingredients themselves were of dubious quality, the least she could do was arrange them nicely.

"Really?"

Saena's nerves were fraying. "Yes, they're right in front of me. Right now."

She started pouring the murky water from the koi pond within what she thought were the points, when Jun asked, "Why can't I see them?"

Here she was, with the five worst spirits in front of her, and her clueless husband was asking why he couldn't see them. Despite her best efforts, Saena's temper flared and she hissed, "All I know is that this is the first time of many things for me and I need to concentrate!"

Jun immediately stopped talking and backed up to a safe distance from Saena and the pentacle, leaving her to pour the rest of the water and finish up with the cooking oil in the center. Saena took in a deep breath and blew on the pentacle. To Jun's surprise, the star instantly burst into flames, and to Saena's shock, of all the confirmation ceremonies she'd performed, the flames flared the highest, even when it was surrounded by snow. Was it the dubious nature of the ingredients? Was it the disastrous nature of the spirits? Was it the human world itself?

One by one, the spirits whirled around within the fire.

But Saena noticed a small spirit peer out from behind a spiny bush, gazing at the fire with longing. It was the spirit of joy. Saena's heart leapt with hope. Glancing towards the now empty fire, Saena beckoned the spirit to come. Excitement bloomed across the spirit's face, and Joy darted forward toward the fire. Saena saw Joy motion exuberantly toward the bush, and many other diminutive spirits arose from it. Generosity, Ethics, Passion… many others, and last of all, Hope. They were all young spirits of the human world, and it was their first time experiencing such a ritual.

Flooded with relief, Saena took a shaky breath, tears threatening to blur her vision. With a firm shake of the head, she gestured for Jun for to bring forward their daughter. Lifting their child up into the air and levitate above the flames, Saena chanted, _"Spirits of earth and air, fire and water, I testify to thine respective elements that this child's name is _Kyoko_. Do I testify to you, and do thou in turn testify to all other beings that _Kyoko_ is her name."_

Kyoko floated down into Saena's arms and the fire doused, marking the end of the most emotionally draining naming ceremony that she'd had ever performed.

She staggered back to Jun, who caught her just in time, face filled with worry.

She did not notice the spirit of jealousy peer out from a tree, watching them with narrowed eyes.

…

Now that Kyoko was born and named, Saena knew that she had to return to the fairy realm, if not to check up on Kuon, then to tell her friends that she was safe and sound.

Jun understood and let his wife go, only after extracting from her a promise that she would come back in one piece. Saena dropped a kiss on Kyoko's forehead, causing her daughter to gurgle with joy.

With the promise that she would return in three days, Saena stepped into the fairy ring and murmured an incantation, disappearing, unaware that it would be the last time that she would see her husband and child together.

…

After Saena had left for the fairy realm, Jun turned to Kyoko. "Well, Mommy's left for now, so I guess it's just you and me, Kyoko-chan."

Cradling Kyoko to his chest, he walked out of the forest, unable to see the spirit of jealousy tailing them closely.

…

Though Jealousy didn't understand the full situation surrounding the Mogami family, it knew enough of the laws in the magical world to gather that the family would not be condoned. The other spirits might not think to tattle, but they had been able to partake in the confirmation ceremony. Joy had been acknowledged and even encouraged to dance in the flames, but Jealousy had not even been noticed! The green-eyed-monster within could not allow the happy, but illegitimate family that had ignored its presence to exist. No, it would have to break up the family.

…

Saena drew back the hood of her cloak and announced herself to the herald. She then resigned herself to the familiar routine of being handed off from fairy to pixie to dwarf to pixie, then fairy again.

"Sae!"

If it weren't totally undignified, the queen looked like she might run up and hug Saena. As it was, Julie seemed so glad to see Saena that she was one the verge of shedding tears.

Kuon, now four, tried his hardest to maintain his his cute attempt at dignity, sweeping into an almost graceful bow.

Saena was somewhat surprised to see that the darkness surrounding him had somewhat receded. She wondered what had brought about that change, and for once, looked forward to Seeing what had changed in the 8 months she'd been absent.

Retreating to her own private chambers, Julie proceeded to interrogate Saena for details of what had happened in the human world, including what her husband was like, how she'd faked her identity. Coming back to the fairy world was like a breath of fresh air, full of magic and free of pollution (though she and Jun lived in a relatively pollution-free area). It put Saena in a good mood and she willingly answered all of Julie's questions.

As she sat down, Saena felt a tug on her skirt. She turned and saw Kuon, with eyes that silently asked her whether he could sit on her lap. He was quite a bit bigger than the last time, but Saena suppressed a giggle and hoisted him up onto her lap.

"Whuf, you've grown a lot since I've last seen you, your highness."

Kuon grinned at her; he had lost a tooth, and the new one was just starting to poke out. Saena wondered, not for the first time, just how this adorable prince would ever come to wreak so much destruction.

"Jun inherited a traditional shodo – Japanese calligraphy – teaching studio in Kyoto. His father had quite a few connections to people in the government it seems. So he pulled a few favors to get me into the Japanese registry. We have connections to quite a few traditional places as well, like a ryokan – Japanese inn – and a place that teaches most Japanese instruments, and a Kendo dojo."

Just then, Kuon smothered a huge yawn. Smoothing his blonde hair, Saena asked, "Is it your nap time, your highness?"

Kuon stubbornly shook his head. "No, Auntie Sae, I've already taken my nap for the day. If I sleep any more, I won't be able to sleep pro-proper – " he stumbled over his words. "Property at night." He seemed proud of himself to have gotten a word, nevermind the wrong one. "Mother told me." The effect of his words was rather ruined by another huge yawn.

"Prince Kuon's a good child, aren't you, your highness?" Saena smiled. "But royalty also need to know when to stand up for themselves." She told him sternly when he smothered another yawn. "Your highness is still a growing boy, and growing boys need sleep."

She traded looks with Julie, who nodded, and started ushering Kuon off to his own chambers. "Well, then just like Auntie Sae said, let's get you off for a quick nap."

With his head leaning against something soft and motherly hands stroking his hair, Kuon soon drifted off to sleep.

Julie turned to Saena. "You want to See his future?"

"Something's changed." Saena murmured. "His stands a chance against his future now."

All of a sudden, it seemed like someone had turned a light on in the room; Julie's face practically glowed. "Really?" She whispered. "He might not – "

Saena didn't want her friend to get too ahead of herself. "We'll know for sure soon."

She placed her hand on Kuon's head.

Visions of another world, specifically the _human_ world, entered her head. She'd seen only a flash last time so she hadn't been sure, but now she was sure. And she saw chestnut colored hair of a laughing girl appear more than once.

Withdrawing her hand, Saena knew that the future had surely changed, and it now lay in the human world. But with how badly the royal couple had taken the idea of sending their son to the human world, she wasn't sure how to break the news of Kuon's new future.

…

Jealousy wasn't a big fan of Justice _or_ Duty, (it had a feeling they looked down on the emotion called jealousy itself) but they were the spirits necessary to execute her plan. Jealously 'accidentally' passed by, muttering loudly about the incriminating details concerning the Mogami family in the human world. A sly smirk spread across Jealousy's face when Justice and Duty both approached with stern questions about the situation.

…

With Saena gone, nobody could take care of Kyoko when Jun was teaching his calligraphy class.

For the morning class, he had rocked the Kyoko's cradle with a foot whilst teaching. But Kyoko kept waking up and bawling. So for the evening class, he decided to take her to the couple running the nearby ryokan. They'd just recently had their own child as well.

The Fuwas were more than happy to take care of Kyoko while Jun was teaching his students. Promising to pick her up once his class was finished, he left Kyoko in more than capable hands.

After assigning Kanji-writing homework for his students, Jun dismissed his class for the day. Rotating his dominant shoulder, Jun hummed happily. It was time to pick up Kyoko.

Being taken by warrior elves outside his door was the last thing he was expecting.

Jun felt a sense of overwhelming pain, and then all at once a sensory overload, before he blacked out.

…

"So what did you See? Was it different than the last time?"

"Very different, in the fact that now he'll live past he teenage – " Saena was interrupted by a knock on Julie's door. Both women were irritated, but Saena still said, "I'll tell you the rest when Kuu's here. Tell them to come in."

"You may enter."

The door opened, and to their surprise, elves bedecked in decorative but deadly weapons stood there.

_Warrior elves. The council's dogs, though their pride would make them the last ones to admit it. _Saena wondered what they were here for.

"What brings you to my private chambers?" Admonishment tinged the queen's voice.

The leading elf looked unperturbed. "Forgive the intrusion, your majesty. But we are here for the Seeress, as she has been branded a traitor to the kingdom."

Saena froze.

The elves hauled Saena up by her elbows and escorted her out of the room, ignoring the queen's protests.

…

Saena was dragged to the dungeons, which were mostly empty and looked much unused. She was thrown none too gently, the door clanging shut after her. The guards locked the cell and left without a word. Saena could only guess what had happened in the human world, and panic laced through her. What had happened to Kyoko and Jun?

A groan snapped her back to reality. Someone was in the cell with her.

She turned and her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Jun!"

Scrambling over to the Jun, she hugged his prone figure to her, and his eyes flickered open. "…Saena?" He was pale, and his skin was cold to the touch.

How had they brought someone from the human world back here? Worry and rage warred within her. Had they _forcibly_ brought him back, with no care for the consequences that might take their toll on her husband's body? His body was not made to handle the magic of this world!

"How could they do this to you… How dare they…" If they had done this to her husband, what about… "Kyoko… What about Kyoko?"

"She's at the Fuwa's…"

Sobs of relief wracked Saena's body. Her baby was safe, for now. But what would become of them?

…

…

**A/N:** Okay, we're a little more than halfway through the backstory, I feel like.

And I also know that Kyoko is spelled with the Kanji for Kyoto's Kyo, (京) but that's her stage name. We don't know how her real name is spelled in Kanji because it's spelled out with katakana like thus: キョ–コ. So let it not be said that I didn't do my research. ;)


	4. The Trial

**A/N**: Thank you for the reviews and the follows/favorites! Special thanks for Yeek, Guest, and Helette who have reviewed every chapter! :)

…

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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**The Cursed Prince**

…

_Chapter 4_

_The Trial_

…

"How did the council find out?" Julie looked absolutely miserable.

Kuu paced back and forth in his and Julie's chambers, frustrated. "Apparently Justice and Duty _both_ came before the council."

"But spirits usually don't concern themselves with corporeal matters!" Julie exclaimed.

"…But they feel compelled to come forward to intervene when they find matters related to the basis of their nature." Kuu reminded her darkly.

"How exactly does that particular spirit define 'justice' anyway? I know plenty of other Justices that think that the laws don't fit their own sense of justice." Julie groaned.

"Remind me to ask you to introduce me to those Justices and ask them which laws they're unsatisfied with. I need to win over more spirits." Kuu growled.

"Okay, so some spirits ratted on her because they couldn't help it. I_ still _don't understand is why we, the rulers, can't even go _see_ her."

"The council won't let us go see Saena because they've put her in the same holding cell as her husband. They're afraid a man from the human world might _taint_ us." Kuu's tone of voice denoted exactly what he thought of the council's fears. "The fact that he's survived here for so long after being forcibly brought here puzzles me, however." His face darkened. "Not that it makes much of a difference, for that matter. He'll be executed anyways."

Julie shook her head. "Poor Sae…"

"Why is Auntie Sae in the dungeons? Did she do something bad?"

If Kuu hadn't practiced so much restraint in his years of being a king, he would have jumped and sworn when bright blue eyes suddenly peered out from under the bed. But over the four years Kuu had seen his son grow, he had come to view whatever his son did as praiseworthy. Even if it nearly scared him out of his skin. Kuu stooped over and easily lifted Kuon in his arms, letting his son's weight rest on the crook of his elbow. "Kuon, how do you get stealthier by the day? Let your dad in on your secret ways."

But Kuon was not to be deterred from the subject he had brought up. "Did Auntie Sae do something bad?" Kuon asked insistently.

Kuu set his son down on the ground and rubbed his forehead. "She fell in love."

Looking up at his parents, Kuon asked plaintively, "Is love bad, then?"

Gathering up Kuon into her arms, Julie said gently, "Love is a wonderful thing, Kuon. Your father and I are in love, and are we bad?" She made herself smile as her innocent son vehemently shook his head.

The wrinkle on Kuon's brow looked ridiculously out of place on his otherwise smooth face. "Then why is Auntie Sae in the dungeons?"

"…Auntie Sae just got unlucky and fell in love with someone the council isn't happy with."

Kuon turned to his father. "Can't you get her out? You're the king."

Kuu gave his son a hollow smile. "I'll try my best, Son. But there are some things even kings can't do."

…

Saena considered it a blessing that they got food in the holding cell. At least the kingdom wouldn't let its prisoners starve to death before their trial.

If the council would even allow them a trial.

One of the only things that comforted her was that her husband had somewhat recovered. From her guess, his body had first gone into shock from all the magic surrounding it before it had acclimated to the new environment.

Jun was depressed about Kyoko. "She's at the Fuwa's… they probably worried that she's been abandoned."

Saena's heart squeezed. The spirit that had come to Kyoko's naming ceremony was influencing her daughter's life very early on. "There will be _someone_ at her side as she grows up." She whispered, more to convince her self than anything else.

Jun shifted on the hard flagstones. "I don't suppose you can See whether we'll survive this or not." He stated.

Saena had given up on that idea about 48 hours ago when she'd been first imprisoned. "I wish I could, but from what I can see, or rather, _can't_ See, this is a special holding cell for Seers."

Abruptly, the pixie guarding their cell collapsed to the ground with a loud thump. At once, Saena hushed Jun, and they heard a voice.

"Auntie Sae?"

…

Two days later found a grim King and Queen. Even prince, who, in all rights should not completely understand what was going on, was more quiet and reserved than usual. He was often gone, even from his lessons.

But his parents had more pressing matters, including the trial that would take place that evening.

"Do you think we've worn down the council enou – "

"No." was Kuu's trite interruption. "It was all I could do to get the council to even grant a trial."

Julie had known as much, but to hear the truth from her husband's lips hurt her heart.

"What do you think the verdict will be?"

"With our help, she might not be executed, but in any case, she won't be able to go to the human world ever again."

They didn't discuss Jun's fate. They knew the outcome wouldn't change for him, no matter what.

"We should get down to the throne room."

As they neared the throne room, they heard voices.

"Where is the man from the human world?"

"Why is only the Seeress here?"

"She was alone in the holding cell, Councilor."

Before the councilor could utter an outraged reply, the King and Queen stepped into the throne room. Aside from the rustles as the court parted for their King and Queen, the room fell into silence.

Saena was on the ground, hands tied together behind her back, mutinous look on her face. Various council members stood in front of her while warrior elves surrounded her from behind, one holding a sword at her neck.

Holding back his anger, Kuu forced a smile and arched a brow. "Were we not planning to hold a trial? I believe there is little point in holding a trial for a prematurely executed person, so _remove that sword from the Seeress' neck at once._"

Slowly, almost reluctantly, the warrior elf drew back the sword and sheathed it.

Purposefully, Kuu and Julie strode over to their thrones and sat down, cueing everyone else to take a seat down both sides of the isle.

"Now. I believe that there should be two people present at this trial."

The councilor stepped forward. "The guards say that only the Seeress was present in the cell. There was no trace of the human."

Saena peeked up through her bangs to meet the eyes of her childhood friend.

"No trace of then man at all?" He was seemingly asking the warrior elf, but his eyes were trained on Saena's golden ones.

Saena'd known him long enough to see behind the 'king' façade and know that he was truly worried about her husband.

Ever so slightly, Saena shook her head. _Don't worry, Kuu._

…

_2 days earlier_

…

Kuon had heard his father clearly say that Auntie Sae's husband would be "executed" and from what he'd learned, being 'executed' meant, one way or another, ending up dead. He may have been young, but he knew that being dead was no fun. Being dead was the opposite of being alive. Being dead meant you couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't think, or communicate with anybody.

When a bird that had regularly visited him during magic lessons died after being hit by a stone thrown by a classmate, he'd been terribly sad. How much more sadness would Auntie Sae feel when her husband died?

He didn't want her to feel like that.

So Kuon crept towards the dungeons. He was nimble, still a child, and the from what his magic tutors had told him, the sleeping spell was his specialty. He finally arrived at the only cell with occupants, Auntie Sae and a man that seemed…somewhat different.

"Auntie-Sae?"

…

Saena's head snapped up at Kuon's voice.

"Kuon…? Prince Kuon?"

Sure enough, Kuon was peering through the bars of the holding cell.

"Your highness! What are you doing here?" Saena hissed, too surprised to be polite.

Innocently, Kuon said, "To keep you and your husband from being… exe…" He frowned. "Executives?"

Maybe it had been because he'd been in a fairy equivalent of a jail cell for over 2 days, maybe it was because of the child's innocent mistake, but Jun couldn't withhold a smile at the four year old. He stepped forward and knelt so he was eye-to-eye with Kuon. "And how will you do that, little man?"

"Get you and Auntie Sae out of here."

But as a young child, Kuon's planning was limited to just getting to the holding cell. He had no idea how he was going to get out with two adults without catching attention.

He rattled the bars in vain, and spotted the lock. He padded over to the sleeping guard and searched for the key. He looked dismayed when he pulled out a whole ring of them.

Seeing it was too late to convince Kuon to abort his self-imposed mission, Saena encouraged him instead. "Good job, your highness. This is one of the last cells, so we should try keys at near the ends."

They got it on their third key.

Hurriedly, Saena exited the cell, pulling her husband out after her. "Okay, your highness, listen to what I say. I'm going to make you and Jun invisible, so you can get past the guards that are waking up." She pondered for a moment. _I can't keep Jun in any of my old haunts; it's too dangerous. No choice._ "I hate to ask this of you, your highness, but do you know any safe places that my husband can stay, without being caught?"

Jun narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Kuon was confused. "Aren't you coming along?"

Saena smiled sadly. Kneeling and stroking Kuon's hair, she admitted, "I would love to, but I need to stay here." _To let your parents know you have a chance._

"But… but then you might be – "

"Your parents the King and Queen will do everything within their power to prevent it." She said firmly. "My husband is the only one who has no chance."

Jun crossed his arms. "So you're telling me to leave my wife here and escape by myself?"

Saena stood up and touched Jun's cheek. "This is my home world, and if you think your wife is helpless here…" she grinned, "…think again."

Jun exhaled harshly and in the next moment, Saena found herself encircled tightly in his arms. "Promise you'll stay safe until the next time we meet?" He murmured into her hair.

She mumbled into his shoulder, "Promise." It was an empty promise because she was still unable to see the future within proximity to the cell's sealing powers, but Jun didn't have to know that.

Jun looked torn, and Kuon looked shattered, but with an effort, the four-year-old child drew himself together. "I know a safe place."

Saena kissed Kuon's forehead. "Thank you so much for coming to our rescue." She cast the invisibility spell on the two, and they faded into their surroundings. "The spell will last around an hour. And don't forget to put the keys back where you found them after you lock me up again."

"Yes, Auntie Sae." affirmed Kuon's disembodied voice.

Saena felt lips press against her forehead. "I'll see you soon." Jun's whispered in her ear.

Saena's eyes glittered with tears as she nodded and entered the holding cell once more.

…

_2 days later_

…

When the time for the trial had come, warriors had come to find Saena alone in the cell, no trace of her husband to be found.

They'd dragged her to the throne room and thrown her on the ground in front of the court, threatening her with a sword.

The regents had appeared and forced the sword to draw away from her neck.

"I hereby declare the trial in process." Kuu announced.

Saena closed her eyes. She was known as the Seeress, but very few people knew she also dabbled in sorcery, and therefore had one other power as well; one that was a double edged sword. She hoped that Kuu and Julie wouldn't have to make her use her joker card.

"What is the accusation brought against the Seeress?"

"She went to the human world, fell in love with and married a man named Mogami Jun, giving birth to his child just a little over a fortnight ago." declared a councilman.

"We have this from reputable spirits, Justice and Duty." input another.

Julie turned to the councilman who had spoken. "And are these spirits willing to come forward and testify exactly how they got this information?"

The councilmen looked at one another uncomfortably.

A dark-skinned fairy came forward. "I'm afraid that we cannot get in contact with them, but we know that they got this information directly from a spirit that witnessed a naming ceremony performed in the human world."

Saena silently cursed to herself. _That damned naming ceremony again! _It was where everything had gone wrong. If only she'd…

"What is the nature of this spirit? Some spirits can lie as well." Kuu pointed out.

The councilmen exchanged another set of looks, as if they'd hoped that matter wouldn't have been brought up.

Julie reinforced the question. "Well? A question was asked. If any of you gentlemen would like to answer?"

Reluctantly, an answer was volunteered. "The witness was Jealousy, your highness."

Murmurs swept through the court. Julie sneered, "Yes, and Jealousy _would_ provide this information out of _pure goodwill _for the kingdom."

"But Jealousy is not among the spirits that can lie." Said an elfin councilman smoothly. "And we have Jealousy here for testimony." A small spirit, the size of the elf's forearm, floated down.

Seeing the smug look on Jealousy's face, Saena clenched her teeth. Jealousy may be an ill-formed emotion, but it was still a legitimate spirit. And the elf was right. Though Jealousy could withhold certain details to distort a story, it was unable formulate a complete falsehood.

She had no choice but to use force to escape. Shooting Kuu and Julie an apologetic look, she shouted, "Éveiller contrat*!"

**[Éveiller contrat* = Awaken contract in French]**

All at once, the carpet beneath Saena starting bulging. Suddenly the carpet beneath her feet tore open, revealing rapidly growing tree roots that swallowed Saena whole and disappeared as rapidly as they'd appeared.

…

_2 months later in Kyoto_

…

It was nearing sunset when a completely bare figure staggered out of the fairy ring. Shivering, the figure looked around before stumbling west.

…

**A/N #2**: I'm surprised that people are reading this story at all, considering Saena's been the primary focus until this chapter. (Yes. This means chapter 5 will focus on something else.)


	5. The Runes

A/N: Aww, thank you, my lovely reviewers, keeping my ego afloat. :P

Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly.

…

**The Cursed Prince**

…

_Chapter 5_

_The Runes_

…

A worker of the Fuwa Ryokan had the surprise of her life when a naked woman stumbled into the inn and collapsed in front of her during a cold February evening. Trying her best not to disturb the other customers, the worker hauled the slightly deranged lady into the inn. She called the Okami*-san, who looked more than shocked. Hurriedly, the Okami ordered the worker to help her support the mysterious lady to a room.

**[Okami = the female manager of a Japanese inn]**

The next day, the worker found the sliding screen door of the room open and the bed empty and unmade. It was a good thing they had helped the lady into a thin cotton robe before putting her to bed, otherwise, deranged as she was, she might have gone out stark naked and disturbed the other guests. The worker spotted the Okami speaking to the lady and shrugged; it seemed the manager knew the lady, so she would leave the two of them alone.

"Saena-san, it is imperative for me to know where have you been for the last two months. What happened to Jun-san? What happened to you? We were so worried when Jun-san didn't pick up your child when he said he would." It was the Okami's voice.

"Is this the Fuwa Inn?"

"What are you talking about, Saena-san? You've been here before, haven't you?" Fuwa Noriko was bewildered by Mogami Saena's vacant looks. She supposed it was shock. With the state she'd turned up at the inn, it was understandable.

"She said Kyoko would be at the Fuwa Inn. Is this the Fuwa inn?"

Noriko finally gave an exasperated answer. "Yes, this is the Fuwa Inn." There was a pause. "I think we'd better take you to a hospital, Saena-san. One of the workers can take – "

"Where is Kyoko?" It seemed the unstable lady had her mind set only on her child.

Looking into dull golden eyes that showed no spark of recognition whatsoever, Noriko sighed heavily and turned. "Follow me."

She led the way to the nursery, where both Kyoko and Shoutaro were being taken care of by a sitter.

"Which one is Kyoko?"

Not recognizing your own child, even when you were in shock, was too much. Aghast, Noriko exclaimed, "Saena-san, we really should get you checked out at a hospital!"

The lady stood over a baby; Kyoko. "Is this her?" She picked Kyoko up, holding the baby in a way that wasn't even close to correct. She looked into the squirming baby's eyes. "Yes. The eyes are the same. Same color eyes, that's what she told me." Kyoko did not appreciate being held in such a rough manner. She squeezed her eyes shut and began to bawl at the top of her lungs.

Clutching the child to her breast possessively, the now dominating lady turned to Noriko. "I was told it was common etiquette to say thank you in situations such as these. Thank you for looking after this child during the time her parents weren't present. Now she has me, so I will take her."

She promptly left.

Noriko stood there for a while afterward. _What happened to Saena-san these last two months? She's changed too much… It's as if she's a different person …_

…

Clutching the still-crying Kyoko none too gently, the Saena look-a-like arrived at the Mogami household gate. Her fingers found the key in the niche of the outer wall, under the plant pot, just as she'd been told.

Unlocking the gate she crossed the grounds and went to the front door, which was open. She walked in, leaving muddy footprints across the tatami mat floor.

Looking around the dusty house, she knew that she needed to make a living; the owners of the house would no longer be coming back, and she had been sent to take care of Kyoko. But she knew she would only last a few more years at most.

She would fulfill what was asked of her: to provide for and raise Kyoko. But one thing that was not physically possible for her, was to love Kyoko.

Looking down at the squalling child, the woman said, "I am now Mogami Saena. You are my child, Mogami Kyoko, and for as long as I exist, I will raise you to be a capable woman."

…

_6 years later_

…

Blue eyes peered out from a bush, searching for any pursuers. Declaring the coast clear, a lanky child popped out of the bush and scampered into another bush before hopping up a nearby tree.

This had become Kuon's weekly routine for the past six years. Sneaking off to visit his uncle, who would, in turn, tell him stories of the human world, especially the country named Japan. His uncle taught him how to read and write in simple Japanese as well. He had offered to teach him something called Kanji, which looked beautiful and very difficult. Kuon tried…very slowly. At first, he'd been excited and learned one Kanji a week, then it slowed to a Kanji month, and now… his uncle had given up, it seemed.

But learning about the culture was fun; it was like weekly lessons, except more freeing, because there was no pressure at all. And he was the teacher of his uncle as equally as often, teaching the magical world's culture to his uncle as well.

Once he'd reached the area of his uncle's 'safehouse' (which was actually just a tree converted into a tree house over the course of a year, several months spent wheedling the tree spirit into sharing) he called, "Uncle Jun!"

Suddenly, an enormous tree appeared and a white-haired man slid down the tree trunk, enveloping Kuon in a warm hug. "Kuon!"

Six years ago, Kuon had saved his uncle Jun from being executed. His Aunt Sae had stubbornly stayed behind in the holding cell to face the trial. During the trial, she'd escaped, and had still not been found till this day. Jun's hair had turned white from grief, but his cheerful personality had not diminished, thanks to Kuon.

"How are you, Uncle?" Kuon questioned. "Nobody come questioning?"

Jun made a face. "Nobody but you, you little rascal." He fondly ruffled Kuon's hair.

Kuon grinned. He loved how Uncle Jun treated him like everyone else; without any formality, expectations, simpering or the secret jealousy of his heritage and social status.

Jun began to climb back up the tree and Kuon scrambled up after him. They reached Jun's abode, a large knot the tree had especially opened after taking a liking to the human. The opening obligingly grew larger to admit the human and fairy. Inside were lumps of wood from the inside of the trunk to act as makeshift furniture the tree had specially provided after opening the knot. A bed, a table, desk, chair, and a few shelves. Jun sat down on a makeshift chair while Kuon sprawled on the mattress.

"So how has your week been, Kuon?"

"Good, I've been learning new things in diplomacy, math, and magic theory."

Kuon was seemingly waiting for another question. Jun cast him a knowing grin. "…And how are your wings coming along?"

Excited that the question had been asked, Kuon leapt from the bed and took out his wings, little wings that hadn't taken corporeal form yet, still hexagons of light. "They're going to take form soon, I'm sure of it. Father has such large, grand ones." He pondered. "It's too bad he doesn't use them much, or even keep them out."

Jun laughed. "Well, as a human, I'd imagine wings to be rather cumbersome while carrying out everyday activities. More limbs to take care of, you know?" Standing up, he mimed hitting his elbow on the corner of the table and hopping up and down in pain, making Kuon laugh. "I rather like the number of limbs I have, though I'd be lying if I said if I didn't want to know what it'd be like to fly."

Kuon smiled. "When I become an adult, I'll fly you around, Uncle!"

Jun laughed good-naturedly. "Well, then you'd have to fix your eating habits first, wouldn't you now?"

Kuon flushed. "It's not my fault that people expect me eat the same amount as Father does. He eats abnormally large portions of food."

"But you eat abnormally small portions even for your age. You're 10 now, a growing boy. Four years older than – "

Jun's face became shadowed for a moment. After a pained silence, he put on a smile again, but it was lackluster.

Kuon had always wanted to ask exactly _who_ it was that was four years younger than he, but the subject obviously made his uncle very sad, so he never could ask. But that day, Jun was in a talkative mood. He gave Kuon a small smile and noted, "You must be curious about who I've been talking about."

Kuon withdrew his small wings and nodded, plopping down on the mattress.

Jun laced his fingers thoughtfully. "It's my daughter, Kyoko."

To say Kuon was surprised would be an understatement. "You and Aunt Sae have a daughter?"

Jun answered, "Yup. She was born two weeks before we got captured. It was the most hectic two weeks of my life, even counting the weeks of being on the run. You'll know when you have your own children. Newborns cry when they're hungry, thirsty, unhappy, tired… it's the only way they vocally communicate." He smiled at the memory. "It was the most hectic, happiest two weeks of my life."

Seeing Jun's face at the blissful memory, Kuon was stirred with guilt. As if sensing Kuon's regret, Jun slapped his back. "Straighten up! A prince shouldn't slouch. I don't blame you _or_ your parents, just that damn law. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be alive right now."

That made Kuon feel a bit better, but he still protested, "But Uncle, don't you ever want to see your daughter?"

Incredible pain flashed across Jun's features. "Of course I do. I think about her every moment of every day. But I don't know how I'll ever see her."

Kuon nodded in understanding, depressed. Regular humans born in the human world, by all rights, shouldn't have been able to cross into the magical world, but the elves had apparently forced Jun's body to go through the fairy ring with a spell. They'd tried to get Jun back to the human world, but as soon as Jun so much as stepped into a fairy ring, excruciating pain racked his body, knocking him out for as long as a day. When Jun had finally awoken, he'd described it as feeling like "thumbscrews and nails."

Presently, Jun said, "Well, bygones are bygones. Maybe you can go see her for me." He joked. "In the meantime," he hefted a stack of canvases onto his shoulder, "I'll save up a good bit of gold by selling my paintings. Have a surprise for her and Saena when they find me."

Both Kuon and Jun knew this was overly optimistic hope; but it was still a hope, no matter how meager.

Some time five years ago, Kuon had seen the beautiful landscape Jun had scratched into the ground. The next week, he'd excitedly brought painting supplies for Jun, to see what he could do given the proper material.

The result had been no less than magical, and Jun's work, sold under the pseudonym of "The Foreign Painter" was now fairly renown throughout the capital. Jun himself, with his white hair, was only known as Bai Wuming*, the man who sold The Foreign Painter's works.

**[*Bai = White **and **Wuming = Nameless in Chinese]**

They both slid down the tree trunk, as Kuon frequently followed Jun out on his trips to civilization, if only to keep Jun out of trouble with the guard patrol.

…

After Kuon had returned to the palace using a secret route, he went back to his room, to change his clothes back to what princes were expected to wear. But once he reached his room, he found one of his classmates loitering in front of his door. He was a fairy two years older than he, the son of a duke, a second cousin, brought to the palace to be one of his playmates.

"Long time no see, your highness. I guess you're too good to attend classes with us now?"

Obviously, the playmate idea hadn't panned out.

Nevertheless, Kuon put on a smile for the older, acerbic fairy. "Hello Harrison. And no time away from your face could possibly be long enough." If he was going to be mean, he might as well look civil while he did it.

Harrison clenched his jaw. But he forced the corners of his mouth up into a smile, though it looked more like he was baring his teeth than smiling. "So, how are your puny wings coming along this time?"

If Kuon had any one creed, it was to never fight. No matter how much he was goaded, Kuon never fought. _Never. _

"Why aren't you bringing out your wings, your highness? Surely you're not _ashamed_ of them?"

Kuon didn't answer; he simply tried to shoulder past Harrison to the door to his chambers when he was blocked by a pair of wings. They were hairy, and had eyespots in the center. Emperor moth wings. But Kuon couldn't even comment on how distasteful he found moth wings masquerading as an owl's face; he didn't even have a proper pair of wings yet, who was he to judge wing patterns?

"Well then, the _heir _of the kingdom is afraid of being shamed by his puny wings, the _one_ flaw to his otherwise perfect existence." Harrison sneered, withdrawing his own nearly fully grown pair of wings.. "How positively _princely_. I'll leave your mighty self now, _your highness_."

Kuon quietly entered his chambers. It was true that he'd skipped some classes, but it wasn't because he expected his status to let him get away with it. He curled up on his bed._ Besides, who's fault is it I haven't grown a proper set of wings yet? _He hated both Harrison and himself; Harrison's jealousy, and his own weakness.

Five years ago, in a class where fairy students had to take out their various growths of wings, Kuon remembered how surprised he had been when he had first brought out a stubbly growth of wings. Not only had he not even realized he had wings of light, he hadn't realized when they'd began to take form. Delighted that he'd brought out his wings at such a young age, the teacher congratulated him and left to tell the regents at once.

Elation was literally cut short when Kuon felt a tearing pain down the center if his back. A gasp rippled about the room. Kuon tried to flap his wings, but there was just…nothing there. He looked around, dizzy with pain, and saw Harrison, gripping his now detached wings.

"We'll acknowledge you if you grow up to be as great a King as your father is." He dusted off his hands, Kuon's former wings disintegrating into a pile of sparkling powder on the floor. "Go ahead, pick it up, I hear there's some powerful properties for powdered fairy child wing. Though I don't know how powerful _this _stuff will be. The product is as only as good as the materials. And I mean, come on, those were some low quality wings. I've probably done you a favor, your highness. Hopefully, your next pair will be better, more like the King's."

Afterward, Kuon had to wait for a long time for his wings of light to appear at all, as they too had disappeared when their corporeal form had been destroyed. It was agonizing, waiting for not only the wings of light, but for the physical wings to grow over them as well.

From that class onward, Kuo had avoided one-on-one contact with Harrison, but somehow, the older fairy always caught on whenever Kuon's wings of light were starting to manifest.

Thus far it was three pairs of Kuon's wings had fallen victim; one torn, one clipped, and one riddled with holes. Six pairs if Kuon counted the wings of light.

It had been over a year since he'd been bullied by Harrison, but now that Harrison had caught wind that his wings of light would soon materialize again, no matter that Kuon had grown bigger; his tormentor had grown bigger still.

Every time his parents asked him what had happened to his wings, Kuon would lie that he'd gotten into an accident. He didn't like the looks Kuu and Julie exchanged whenever he lost his wings. But his pride didn't allow himself to tattle. If Harrison was punished, it would seem like he was hiding behind his parent's powers; that he was abusing his status as a prince.

The only adult he'd told the truth to was his uncle Jun. When he was 6, after Harrison had "accidentally" clipped off the right wing of his second pair of wings, Kuon had no choice but to get the remaining wing amputated in order to keep his wings the same size as each other. Knowing that your wing would be clipped made it ten times worse than just being caught off guard.

With his shoulder blades wrapped up in bandages, he had ran to the forest to Jun, holding back tears. After seeing his uncle Jun's concerned face, he'd broken down completely, after which he'd been forced out to hiccup out the whole story.

Jun had knelt to make himself of an eye level with Kuon. "Kuon, bullies are everywhere. It sounds like this Harrison is jealous of you and doing all he can to cut you down… but he'll only succeed if you _let_ him. He's not worth your anger." He gently wiped away Kuon's tears. "Or your tears." He placed firm hands on Kuon's shoulders. "Since he's older than you, I can't tell you to stand up and fight, not only because you might get hurt. But I'll tell you this. You can ignore him. He does these terrible things to see how you will react, and if you show him that his methods of dragging you down _are_ working, he won't stop. You have to rise _above_ what he does." He patted Kuon's shoulders. "And then one day, you can become a better King than your father, and show Harrison's who's boss."

Kuon protested that nobody would be a better king than his father, but Jun ignored him, instead saying, "Here, let me give you something."

He dropped a blue stone in Kuon's hands. It had a shiny surface, but the edges were chipped.

"It's… very pretty…" Kuon didn't know what to do with it. What _could_ he do with such a stone?

As if he knew what Kuon was thinking, Jun smiled. "Isn't it? But I didn't just give it to you because it was pretty." Jun leaned in conspiratorially close to Kuon and whispered, "It has a power."

Kuon, six years old and still gullible, perked up immediately at this. _I can't _feel_ the magic though._

"Here, I'll prove it to you." Jun led Kuon to a nearby clearing. "Okay, now hold it up to the sun." Kuon obediently did as he was told. "And turn it."

As the sun hit the stone, the color flashed from blue to purple for a moment. Amazed, Kuon exclaimed, "Wow! Is the sun the trigger for the magic, Uncle?"

Jun waved the question aside. "Does it matter? The _real _question is, do you still feel upset?"

Kuon had to stop and think. "No." He admitted.

Jun sat back on his heels. "There you go then. Whenever you feel sad, or angry, put all those feelings in the stone, and once you hold it up to the sun, they'll go away. It's comforted me in my darkest days, all the times that I thought Saena dumped me, when my father passed away, when I…lost Kyoko… But now you keep it. It's an amulet."

Kuon tried to give the stone back to Jun. "But you need it!"

He closed Kuon's fingers over the stone. "You need it more than I do now."

For the next four years, Kuon had used that amulet almost every day to wash away his negative emotions, his fears, his worries, and more and more these days, his anger. But the anxiety over how Harrison might somehow destroy his wings for a fourth time robbed him of his sleep that night.

Restless and uneasy, Kuon went to visit Jun the next day as well. The 'Uncle-Jun-tree' as Kuon had come to call it, was already visible, with Jun sitting in front of it, hard painting something, with a haphazard pile of books open behind him.

"Working, Uncle?"

So engrossed with painting, Jun jumped up about a meter in surprise when Kuon's blue eyes peered over the rim of the canvas.

Hand over his heart, Jun looked at Kuon reproachfully. "Dammit Kuon, you should know better than to scare an old man like me."

"Old man?" Kuon pondered. "Yeah, mid-thirties is kinda old, huh? You're like... twenty-something years older than me." Jun drooped. Kuon's keen ears heard Jun mutter '36 isn't _that_ old…'

Kuon peered around to look at the painting. "What're you – " he stopped abruptly. It was a portrait of a woman who looked familiar… "Auntie Sae…" Kuon breathed. Her expression in the portrait was nothing short of glowing.

Jun softly said, "It doesn't do her justice." Kuon looked at him, surprised. Even if it had been created with a six-year gap of not having seen the subject, he thought it looked exactly like Saena, from her determined mouth to her golden eyes. In fact, it was much more accurate than the wanted poster. Kuon decided on the spot that it would be counterproductive and possibly even disastrous to sell the painting.

"But it still might be good enough." Jun continued.

"…Good enough for…?" Kuon prompted. _Not to sell, not to sell, not to sell…_ Kuon chanted in his head.

Jun pointed to the pile of books strewn behind him. "I was reading up on locating spells. Most of them require some artifact or affect of the person... but there's this exactly one old spell that uses images of the person we're trying to find. It'll find someone who looks similar to the image. The one drawback of the spell is that it will find multiple people if there are too many people who look like this. A sculpture would be more accurate, but I can't sculpt."

Somehow misunderstanding the look of dawning comprehension on Kuon's face for skepticism, Jun hastily said, "I'm not thinking I can cast the spell myself, I'm not _crazy_, but I thought it'd just help if…" he slumped. "I don't know. It's okay if you don't understand."

"But I _do_ understand." Kuon replied, going over to the books and looking them over. Most of them were spells that had already been used by the council to try and find Saena, to no avail. But a leaf between two pages bookmarked the spell that Jun had been referring to. It was a spell that used a likeness to locate the subject by its appearance.

It seemed to Kuon that Jun was grasping at straws, so he offered, "I can cast the spell for you. You don't mind, do you?"

A sheepish grin crept across Jun's face. "Actually, I was hoping you'd say that."

Carefully, Jun unclipped the painting from the easel and lay it on the ground.

Kuon looked down at the book for the next step. Sorcerers used their own mana to cast spells, not needing ingredients and incantations. People who hold a contract with an elemental only needed an ignition phrase for anything within the limits of their element. For the rest of the magic-users, no matter how skilled they were, most spells needed ingredients and incantations. For these people, spells were divided into several categories depending on how the spell worked; spirits, runes, or a conduit (such as a staff or a wand).

Reading the next step to the particular locating spell they were trying, Kuon sighed. The spell required runes, and he hadn't learnt these runes yet.

"What's wrong, Kuon?" Jun looked over his shoulder. "Ah, the derivations of face recognition – "

Kuon was stunned. Jun knew _runology_. "But how…? You don't know magic…" Kuon said in wonder as he watched Jun carve the runes around the painting with a stick, and beautifully, too.

"There are books for everything, Kuon." Jun answered lightly. "And just because I can't cast spells doesn't mean I haven't studied the theory of magic over the years. I know a fair amount, seeing as I have few other things to do." Tossing the stick after finishing etching in the runes, Jun dusted his hands. "The next step is the incantation…so your turn?" He turned to look at Kuon.

Kuon walked counterclockwise around the runes, chanting the incantation under his breath. Lit versions of the runes peeled away from the etchings and scattered, presumably to find Saena.

After the last of the glowing runes had gone, a glowing version of the portrait floated up and vanished.

"…Then what do we do?"

"…We wait for the runes to show up again."

So they waited.

"So there's no limit for how long the spell will take?"

"Nope. No ETA."

"ETA?"

"Estimated time of arrival."

"Oh, another human reference?"

"Don't look down on human references. You might need them one day."

"Possible." Kuon knew that was ridiculous, but he humored Jun.

Another silence stretched before Kuon suddenly broke it. "What if Aunt Sae has an identical twin?"

"…I suppose it would find both her and her twin."

"Hmm… also, if I didn't know where you were and wanted to find you, would I have to paint you with your original black hair, or the white hair you have now?"

Jun heaved a sigh and fingered his white hair ruefully. "I'm fairly sure it would work even if you painted me with black hair, if you got everything else right. But it would certainly be faster if you painted me with the white hair I have now." He made a face.

Curious as to the mechanics of how the spell worked, Kuon asked Jun if he had a rune dictionary, to which the reply was affirmative.

The whole evening passed with no sign of any runes. Jun seemed to be getting more and more fidgety until finally, two paths of runes showed up, flowing in different directions.

"What, so she _does_ have a twin?" Kuon said disbelievingly.

Jun had less faith in his painting. "Did the spell go wrong?"

While studying the methodology of the spell, Kuon had read from the tome that the rune paths only lasted for as long as their subjects stayed in area. So there was no time to waste. He pointed at the glowing path closer to Jun. "You take that one Uncle Jun, I'll take this."

Even though it was his wife they were trying to find, Jun was older, and more collected. Placing a calming hand on Kuon's head, he said gently, "We don't know where these runes are leading us. So I think it would be better to stick together."

"But there's no time - "

Jun interrupted with a ghost of a smile on his face. "I've waited six years. I can wait a few more hours."

So they selected one rune path and followed it together. By the time they reached the end, it was nearly dark and the glowing runes were the only source of light besides the dying sun. When the golden runes ended in the distance, Kuon became excited. "Look uncle, there's the end!"

Kuon could have sworn he heard Jun's heart thump as the neared the end of the rune path. Or was it his own heart, excited at the prospect of seeing his aunt and uncle reunited?

So it was all the more devastating to discover that the rune path disappeared in the center of a fairy ring.

…

…

**A/N part 2:** I think the explanation for how fairies' wings grow was a bit too convoluted Q_Q Oh well.

I never, ever, imagined staying this long in the fairy world. But the more I describe it, the more I want to develop it. DAH. So much for planning a story.

Also, this is Harrison's wing pattern. **naturephoto-cz .** [add a **com** and a **/** and take the brackets away] **speckled-emperor-moth-photo-2299 . html** (get rid of the spaces around periods, and 'html')

I actually find the pattern to be kinda cool. But I thought that Kuon would be less than impressed with that kind of intimidation tactic.


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